WIPP to remain shuttered as investigation ramps up

CARLSBAD >> Operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will not resume anytime soon, according to Department of Energy officials.

Original estimates that the site could begin receiving waste shipments on March 10 have been scrapped, said DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Joe Franco.

"The evaluation, for us to go underground and see what actually happened, will be driving us as far a schedule," Franco said.

It could be up to three or four weeks before workers can go underground to survey the possible source of the radiation release. Franco confirmed that the radiation detected at the site bears the same signature as that of the waste stored underground. However, officials could not identify with certainty the underground source and the cause of the release from among the more than 160,000 transuranic waste containers stored 2,150 feet below ground. A federally appointed accident investigation board was established on Wednesday to assess and investigate the event. Advisors from the Department of Energy, Mine Safety and Health Administration officials on that board will be joined by experts from other fields.

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The team of radiological experts will work to create a plan for re-entry to the underground, according to Franco.

"It is the same type of workers that put this in the barrels who will be coming to help us with this," Franco said. "So they have dealt with this, worked with this and have a lot of experience."

The New Mexico Environmental Department is working closely with DOE to monitor the repercussions of the leak according to Secretary Ryan Flynn. "Our primary focus is investigating what happened here at the WIPP site," Flynn said.

Until then all shipments have been suspended and only essential personnel are reporting to work.

WIPP is a major employer and an economic engine for Southeast New Mexico, leading to questions about the possible consequences of what is sure to be a lengthy suspension of operations. The Carlsbad Department of Development lists the nuclear energy industry as the third largest employer in the area.

According to Franco, the facility's employees are currently on paid leave, but he said it's unsure whether that will continue to be the case. Those who are clocking in at the facility are not being asked to use protective measures, according to Franco, who said that the levels of alpha and beta radiation detected are well below the danger thresholds established by the EPA.

"They (employees) would like to go back to work and they want to be a part of returning the facility back to work," Franco said. "There's pride from them in this facility. They think it's the right thing for the nation."

No employees were underground at the time the airborne radiation was detected by underground air monitors, and employees who were above ground were quarantined and later screened for radiological exposure.

Despite the many unknowns and fuzzy timelines, Franco assured the public in a news conference Thursday afternoon the environment, personnel and public are not at risk.

According to Franco, WIPP employees are offering their support and pised to take up the mission once the facility has been cleared to open.

Meanwhile, sampling of the area around the site will continue to occur, something officials hope will deliver further information on the extent of the release and provide insight about how to proceed.